High speed trains in the suburbs

Portland is devising a plan to install a high speed train running from Portland down to Eugene. The train moves at a speed of 110 mph and would make about 12 trips per day to each city. The ongoing issue with installing this train is the route to be taken runs through the heart of Lake Oswego's downtown. It would divide the city in half and remove the small quaint atmosphere the cities downtown thrives on. The train would also go through Milwaukie, another suburb of Portland.

I hope a high speed train is made between the two cities as the traveling between Eugene and Portland is hectic much of the time, especially since Salem lies in between the two cities. This would reduce congestion very much and make the trip much faster, especially for those driving from Salem or Eugene to Portland for work.

Article Link:
High speed trains through Portland suburbs

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Community Concern

Cob in the Portland Community

I attended a workshop on cob this week and learned a lot about insulation and new methods to save energy and resources from using traditional insulation which runs through machines and is sent out to warehouses which eventually is used by construction and other companies to insulate homes and buildings. This article addresses cob structures that have been developed in the Portland area and suggests alternative places that cob structures would be useful such as restrooms in parks or outdoor sheds. The cob is a very unique infrastructure, using straw bales which are wasted or usually burned. Instead these bales can be used to make a comfortable insulation in any building. It is relatively cheap requiring straw bales, soil, and sand. The cob is layed over the bales and makes them suck together and solid against disaster and other outside threats. Cob is very sufficient and easy to maintain. It can be made by any individual and there are workshops around the Portland area which train any person how to make these structures.

Article Link:
Neighborhood Places Gathering Spaces Tour

Zoning Farmland for Urban Development

Decades ago a bill was passed the HB2229, which was a measure involving the zoning of rural areas and accommodating urban sprawl. In Oregon's past the county did not rezone properly and some counties are reluctant to rock the boat even though it may mean better tax incentives and a list of others. The team wants the counties to act and rezone rural and urban areas accordingly and correct officials mistakes to ensure each county is legally zoned.

As it stands now the bill is one sided and does not adhere to the many different climates throughout the Oregon area. There is a team working together on the project trying to reach a general consensus on what Oregon's believe should be included in the zoning of rural and urban areas. The team is in charge or looking and organizing all of the legislation so it better provides for all different climates in Oregon and cities which are rural under different conditions whether it be forest or desert. The Big Look is the team responsible for organizing and updating these land use policies.

Article Link:
Counties Need To Act On House Bill 2229

Problems with Public Spaces

Public spaces have much potential to succeed or fail at organizing and bringing the community together. Common reasons why many public spaces have failed to really energize and connect community members are these following reasons:
    *Lack of places to sit
    *Lack of gathering points
    *Poor entrances and visually inaccessible spaces
    *Dysfunctional features
    *Paths that don't go where people want them to go
    *Domination of a space by vehicles
    *Blank walls or dead zones around the edges of a place
    *Inconveniently located transit stops

Convenience and accessibility serve the needs of the community and are vital to success of public space.

Article Link:
Why public spaces fail

Community or Common public?

Sellwood bridge is an undergoing project because of the bridges instability against disaster and time. It is deteriorating and is recognized as unsafe in the near future. The bridge is a major regional transportation route and without it being active would cause major congestion and increased travel time for many drivers especially those between downtown, Milwaukie, and Lake Oswego.

Currently the community wants to preserve its image and does not want a major roadway accessing their residential neighborhoods. The bridge is not accessible for freight trucks or transit lines causing a major issue with routes and public access. The common public needs this bridge to be more accessible to community services such as the bus transit lines and bicycles. It is old fashioned with one slim sidewalk and tight roadways. It is an ongoing project and has surveys and comment sections available to the community to hear what the public thinks about the cities project of opening the bridge to serve a larger traffic crowd and reduce congestion in this region.

I drove over this bridge for the past two summers and due to its two way lanes and connecting roadways from downtown, Sellwood, Milwaukie, and Lake Oswego most notably, creates a major pile-up at this bridge during rush hours, leaving a minimum of 30 minute wait to get over the bridge. This bridge is in such a regional spot it should be open to more lanes and provide better and safer transportation for those on bikes and foot. I hope the final decision is a second bridge supporting one way while the Sellwood bridge supports the other way. The new bridge could have a single sidewalk and there would be much less confrontation from bikers going opposite directions.

Article Link:
Sellwood bridge comments

The Future of Portland Bicycling

Portland is classified around the country as the safest place to ride a bicycle. The odd thing about this is that only 5% of the town has bike lanes and bike parking available in the central downtown area and less than 2% in the more rural areas outside the Portland Metro area. With the increased popularity of cycling, it is critical for Portland to improve its bike paths and parking. 


The key elements of the plan include:

1) policies and objectives that form part of Portland's Comprehensive Plan Transportation Element;

2) developing a recommended bikeway network;

3) providing end-of-trip facilities;

4) improving the bicycle-transit link; and

5) promoting bicycling through education and encouragement.

A new policy enacted is 6.12 stating:

Make the bicycle an integral part of daily life in Portland, particularly for trips of less than five miles, by implementing a bikeway network, providing end-of-trip facilities, improving bicycle/transit integration, encouraging bicycle use, and making bicycling safer.

The success of this plan is reliant on the community for which it is evolving. Members need to participate and support and promote the idea of riding bicycles to school and work especially. Bicycles save the environment and create much less noise, congestion, and pollution which would help preserve our natural environment and keep Oregon green. 

Article Link:
PDX Bicycle Master Plan

Portland Repair Group

I ran across this in my search of Portland and what it is doing with its community socialization and spaces. This is a volunteer group helping rebuild neighborhoods, communication, and involvement of its community members by coming together under an organized organization and planting seeds. They take projects underway and revitalize spirits of those communities most in need.

Organization Link:
Portland City Repair

Portland metro plan to building a sustainable community

This slide show talks about Portland's plan to building a sustainable community and has a major emphasis on transportation, both mass transit and convenient foot walking. The show is informational and gives people an understanding of what Portland metro is planning and the areas of interest the city is most focused on. Development of a sustainable community is dependent on numerous factors including pollution control, community interaction, family residence, schools, transportation, and building restructuring. Managing our main roadways is going to be an ongoing challenge as the population continues to boom in the city. Working on 99W is a major project for the city as well as restructuring the bridges in the community to meet legal standards of safety. Very informative slide show regarding city plans and future desires for the city.

Article Link:
Building Sustainable Communities Slide Show

"Portland's Living Room"

This is an interesting article linking the center of city life with the transportation system in the Portland metro area. Tri-met is the reason Pioneer Courthouse Square exists today, once just a parking lot in the center of the city, now a hub to every section of the city and suburbs. The lightrails and bus system stop on all crossroads surrounding the square and make the square financially possible having a tri-met station in the middle of the square along with food vendors and artists utilizing the space for many different community engagements. It has been through the financial devotion and active public engagement this square has been revitalized and has been a profound impact on city life in the center of downtown.

Article Link:
Pioneer Courthouse Square